ISL 500 KJ 15 MM RAILGUN NUMERICAL-SIMULATION

A numerical simulation of the mechanical and electromagnetic behavior of the 15 mm round bore ISL railgun is presented. The electromagnetic calculations were done with the MSC/EMAS finite element code. The calculated electromagnetic forces acting on the structure serve as an input for the MSC/DYNA finite element code. The theoretical results were compared to the experimental measurements on the 500 kJ driven railgun. With this model the behavior of a solid armature with the current input at the backside was compared to the front-fed solid armatures developed at the ISL. Finally, several optimizations of the present design are proposed.